


Nice To Meet You

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 10:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10683309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: Nine x Rose. AU. Random meeting.





	Nice To Meet You

**Author's Note:**

> I am not going to add to this - I wrote it three years ago.

Rose Tyler was hurrying home from work one evening in late Autumn. The past few days had been incredibly mild during the daylight hours, but once the sun had gone down the air quickly showed the calendar to be correct. Thanks to Jackie, Rose was well prepared for the cold with a warm jacket, mittens, and a scarf and though she rolled her eyes when her mum insisted that she take it with her in the mornings, she was definitely thankful now.

The day had been pretty good, all things considered. Folding shirts and fixing displays at Henriks never grew any more inspiring or fun, but she had a new co-worker named Martha Jones who was working to pay for a medical degree and the two had hit it off immediately. Rose's mind was still on their conversation about the possibility of time travel when she made it to to the bus stop just in time to see the bus pull smoothly away from the curb.

She heaved a sigh and debated waiting for the next bus, but it was after six and the bus was on its evening schedule of only twice an hour now and standing in the cold for thirty minutes did not sound like fun. Zipping her coat up to her chin, Rose turned for home. If she was lucky she could catch up to a different bus and if not? Well, it was only about a twenty minute walk if she kept a brisk pace. 

The streets were full of people window shopping or stopping at one of the many little restaurants along the main strip and Rose found herself studying the crowd a little wistfully. She definitely didn't wish Jimmy Stone back in her life (that was a bit of history better off left behind) and she didn't want to force her friendship with Mickey into becoming something it wasn't, but still, the sight of happy couples strolling hand-in-hand or kissing over pasta hurt a little anyway.

She had just passed out of the business district into more residential streets when she spotted a man walking towards her. At first she was concerned with the way he seemed to be listing to one side and then she realized it was only because he was trying to hold his jacket closed and hold on to a satchel and drag a suitcase on wheels behind him. As she drew nearer, Rose realized he was shivering violently.

Never one to ignore a creature in distress Rose approached him gingerly, keeping one hand in her pocket close to the pepper spray Jackie insisted she carry.

"Are you alright there?" she asked him when she was close enough.

"Eh?" He glanced up, offering her a thin smile. "Oh yes, just fine. A little frigid, I suppose. Didn't expect winter to hit so early; I didn't pack for this sort of weather, stupid of me."

She smiled, relaxing when he didn't pose an obvious threat. His jagged speech gave evidence to his obvious cold. "I've got a scarf here, if you'd like?"

He stared at the scarf in her extended hand. "Well, I don't want to take it from you. Then you would be cold and I'd feel obliged to keep you warm and we'd keep passing it back and forth forever."

Rose chuckled at his stab at humor. "I've got mittens and a much heavier coat than that leather jacket."

"I'd be appreciative of you," he conceded, letting go of his coat so that he could accept the scarf.

When he did, she could see that the zipper of his jacket was missing and his sweater had obviously seen better days. She looked down and noticed that his work boots were worn at the seams and his jeans were starting to be threadbare. Biting her lip, she returned her gaze to his face, blushing only slightly when she realized he was fully aware of her scrutiny. 

"Listen, do you have a place to stay? Tonight, I mean?" she asked, forcing herself to maintain eye contact.

"I, I don't want to, I mean I," he broke off and stared at someone's front gate as if it held the answers to all of life's questions.

"I live with my mum," Rose reassured him. "And if you've got a place to go, I'll leave you be on your way. But if you'd like, I can promise you a good meal and a warm place to sleep tonight."

"I...thank you," he smiled at her in a way that suggested he hadn't done much of that recently. "I've been on the road for a bit and I got stranded when my car broke down back there. I need specialized parts to fix her, older model and all, and I don't know if I still know anyone in the city who would be willing to put me up."

"You're not running from the law, are you?" she asked, picturing her mum's reaction if they came to arrest him in the middle of the night.

"No, nothing like that. Running from my own demons. Much worse in the end, you know." He shifted his bundles to his other hand and reached out a hand towards her. "I'm James McCrimmon."

"Rose. Rose Tyler," she told him, shaking his hand and taking the handle to his suitcase from him. "Come on, it's this way."

They exchanged random comments as they walked - the parts he needed for his car, landmarks they'd been to in the city, his gratefulness to her hospitality, where she worked - and they were walking up the steps to the flat before Rose realized she hadn't actually let go of his hand. She grinned at him, unsure what the future was going to hold, but certain it was going to be interesting.


End file.
